Jakarta, March 6 The Indonesian Ministry of Environment and Forestry inspected upstream areas of rivers in West Java province on Thursday and uncovered alleged violations of environmental laws, which are believed to have contributed to recent flooding in Jakarta and surrounding areas over the past two days.
The ministry installed four environmental monitoring boards on lands where functions had been altered, rendering them unable to retain water. The landowners had been using these areas without obtaining the necessary environmental permits.
Indonesian Environmental Minister Hanif Faisol Nurofiq said that 33 other locations in the upstream areas, located in Puncak Cisarua of Bogor regency, also showed signs of environmental law violations.
"We will soon escalate the status of this case to an investigation, as the natural conditions strongly indicate that changes in spatial planning have caused the flooding," Hanif said during the inspection.
He noted that any changes in land function must be supported by in-depth scientific analysis, particularly in upstream zones that serve as groundwater catchments, Xinhua news agency reported.
According to data from the ministry, 15,000 hectares of the upstream areas of the Ciliwung River should be allocated for protected areas, national parks, production forests, water sources, and limited settlements. However, since 2022, approximately 8,000 hectares have been converted for plant cultivation and residential purposes.
Additionally, 3,203.24 hectares of land in the upstream areas have become critically degraded, posing risks of landslides and erosion of up to 180 tons per hectare annually.
The recent flooding, triggered by the overflowing of the Ciliwung and Cisadane rivers originating from Puncak Cisarua in Bogor regency, affected Jakarta and its satellite cities from Tuesday to Wednesday.
The disaster claimed three lives, forced large-scale evacuations, and disrupted business activities, particularly in goods transportation.
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